We overclocked our six-core processor (with its default non-lapped heat-spreader) with the multiplier set at 25x and “Load-Line Calibration” enabled to the modest 4.24 GHz. The nominal processor Vcore was increased to 1.36875 V in the mainboard BIOS:

Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading technologies were disabled during our test session. The memory voltage was at 1.64 V and its frequency was 1.42 GHz (7-7-7-16_1T timings). All other parameters available in the mainboard BIOS and related to CPU or memory overclocking remained unchanged.

All tests were performed under Windows 7 Ultimate x64 operating system. We used the following software during our test session:

The CPU was loaded with two consecutive Linpack x64 test runs with the settings as indicated above. The stabilization period for the CPU temperature between the two test cycles was about 8-10 minutes. We took the maximum temperature of the hottest CPU core for the results charts. Moreover, we will also provide a table with the temperature readings for all cores including their average values. The ambient temperature was checked next to the system case with an electronic thermometer with 0.1 °C precision that allows hourly monitoring of the temperature changes over the past 6 hours. The room temperature during our test session varied between the annoying 23.4-23.8 °C.

We are going to compare Noctua NH-C14 against three coolers: Thermaltake BigTyp 120 VX – as one of the most effective coolers in the past, copper Deep Cool Killer Whale Premium - as one of the most effective top-coolers today, and the magical Thermalright Archon - as the most effective air-cooler out there:

Both top-coolers were tested only with their default fans, and Archon was tested with two Thermalright TY-140 fans installed for air intake/exhaust towards the back panel of the system case

Moreover, besides the tests with one and two default fans, Noctua NH-C14 was also tested with a pair of Thermalright TY-140 and Scythe Slip Stream 140 fans:

We used a special controller with ±10 RPM precision to manage the rotation speed of all fans in our today’s test session.